by Structured Settlement Watchdog
A legal malpractice case over a structured settlement, brought by a former plaintiff against the law firm of Anapol Weiss now has a trial date of January 9, 2023. This continues our ongoing commentary.
The Backstory (Abridged Edition)
I've covered the backstory more extensively in other posts. See most recent from May 1, 2022 post Beef Yerkes | ELNY Era Legal Malpractice Case Continues Against Anapol Weiss
Briefly, on the advice of his lawyers Eric Yerkes, a young air crash survivor, entered into a structured settlement in the 1980s, with Cessna Aircraft and its London market insurers. The structured settlement was funded with Executive Life Insurance Company of New York, a company that any savvy person would know at the time was laden with junk bonds, at a time when contemporary prime time print and TV news media had observed severe financial impairments of two other annuity issuers. Five years later, ELNY was under supervision of New York's insurance regulator. In August 8, 2013 ELNY was liquidated and restuctured into GABC, 1500 annuitants were set to receive up to 66% less than they were owed under their annuity contracts. One of those was Eric Yerkes.
Yerkes' attemp to recover from Cessna and the London market insurers failed, due to Yerkes having already released them when the qualified assignment went into effect nearly 30 years earlier. Consequently Yerkes v Cessna became a seminal case for novation under a qualified assignment.
Yerkes then went after his lawyers for legal malpractice based upon, among other things, alleged lawyer representations made in alleged communication with Yerkes about Cessna's and the London underwriters' post qualified assignment responsibilities that were incorrect.
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
ERIC YERKES,
Plaintiff,
v.
ANAPOL WEISS,
Defendant.
Civil No. 17-2493-KMW-AMD
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